Intrepid British Violinist Daniel Hope Returns to US
“Terezín/Theresienstadt” Program

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with Anne Sofie von Otter and Friends including Performances at Strathmore Hall Arts Center on April 30 and Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in New York City on May 2

“In a business that likes tidy boxes drawn around its commodities, the British violinist Daniel Hope resists categorization.”– New York Times

After concerts in Hartford , CT (Apr 26) and North Bethesda , MD (Apr 30), Daniel Hope returns to New York City this week for a performance on Saturday, May 2 at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. The tour program, “Terezín/Theresienstadt”, teams Hope with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, pianist Bengt Forsberg, and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott for an unforgettable exploration of vocal and chamber works by composers interned during World War II in the notorious Theresienstadt concentration camp. Hope performs Erwin Schulhoff’s Sonata for violin and piano and Duo for violin and cello as well as Robert Dauber’s Serenade for violin and piano; he also joins Von Otter in a selection of songs.

Hope has long championed the works of composers whose lives were destroyed by the Nazis. Last year, his Deutsche Grammophon recording of music from Theresienstadt met with great acclaim. The album, which featured liner notes by Hope and performances by von Otter, Forsberg, and baritone Christian Gerhaher, was a Gramophone “Editor’s Choice” selection. Britain ’s Guardian called the recording “an eloquent act of homage which cannot fail to move,” and the disc also won France ’s coveted Diapason d’Or prize.

Deutsche Grammophon, for which Hope records exclusively, recently released his latest disc, a collection of lesser-known violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. The new album, described by Gramophone in an “Editor’s Choice” review as “Out-of-season Vivaldi delivered with a winning blend of love and intelligence,” also features an exquisite aria from the opera Andromeda liberata, sung by Anne Sofie von Otter.

Daniel Hope last performed in New York City in February, at one of the grand re-opening celebration concerts for Lincoln Center ’s Alice Tully Hall. The performance featured another of Hope’s special programs, “War and Pieces”. Steve Smith reported on it for the New York Times:

“In a business that likes tidy boxes drawn around its commodities, the British violinist Daniel Hope resists categorization. Mr. Hope, a compelling performer whose work involves standard repertory, new music, raga, and jazz, emphasizes thoughtful engagement over flamboyant display. In his most personal undertakings, he puts classical works within a broader context – not just among other styles and genres but amid history, literature, and drama – to emphasize music’s role as a mirror for struggle and aspiration.

“‘War and Pieces’, a dramatic presentation Mr. Hope conceived with the Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, vividly demonstrates that urge. The program, staged by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall on Friday night, paired Beethoven’s ‘Egmont’ Overture, composed for a Goethe play about a Flemish revolutionary, with Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale, a wry fable about a soldier who trades his violin (read: his soul) to the Devil for the promise of power and wealth.

“Mr. Hope and six superb young colleagues played Stravinsky’s lean, jazzy score with dazzling virtuosity and bite. Mr. Brandauer, narrating in English translation and discreetly amplified, was eccentric and riveting. The soldier barked, sputtered, and fell mute in connivance; the Devil seduced in a singsong falsetto.

“‘Egmont’, arranged by Jan Müller-Wieland for Stravinsky’s wiry complement, was like a brittle parody out of Brecht and Weill, with flamboyant work for a percussionist: here, Hans-Kristian Kjos Sorensen. Passages from texts by Goethe, Kafka, and Poe, recited by Mr. Brandauer before and between the works, underscored themes of bellicosity and futility.”
A list of Daniel Hope’s upcoming engagements follows.
Daniel Hope – spring 2009 engagements

    April 30
    Strathmore Hall Arts Center
    North Bethesda, MD
    “Terezín/Theresienstadt” project
    Anne Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg

    May 2
    Zankel Hall (Carnegie)
    New York, NY
    “Terezín/Theresienstadt” project
    Anne Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg

    May 4–30
    Brussels, Belgium
    Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition
    Serving on jury and teaching master class

    May 5
    Kronberg Academy
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Baroque program
    Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

    May 8
    Ravensburg, Germany
    Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
    Concerto Köln

    May 10
    Mendelssohn Festival
    London, England
    Mendelssohn program
    Sebastian Knauer

    May 21
    Detmold, Germany
    “Wege durch das Land ”
    Klaus Maria Brandauer and Sebastian Knauer

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